Design
- Pristine design - the Realme 6 has a gradient finish with multiple streaks running down the back, converging at the bottom centre - it shines when light hits it, giving the phone a premium look
- Trendy, modern hole-punch design at the front, which isn't very common at this price point
- Compared to the Realme 5, the Realme 6 has a rounded, curvier back that makes it more ergonomic to hold
- The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is quick and accurate
- Face unlock is super quick and combined with raise-to-wake feature, makes for a seamless unlocking experience
- A bit thick at 9.6mm
- The rear panel isn't glass, and could pick up minor scuffs and scratches (though, it's more durable and light-weight)
Display
- Good, large 6.5 inches full-HD+ IPS display with thin bezels and new punch-hole camera - the colours and peak brightness of the screen are good
- The display has a 90Hz refresh rate which helps the smartphone deliver a smooth experience - games that support 90Hz displays, like Alto's Odyssey, are particularly enjoyable to play
Software
- Software is one area where Realme has taken a big leap, the Realme UI is easy to use - it is also packed with features such as Digital Wellbeing, Focus Mode, Dark Mode, and Riding Mode among others - there are some exciting and useful features like Realme Dual-Mode Audio, which allows you to connect a Bluetooth and a wired headset at the same time to listen to music on the smartphone
- There are still several pre-loaded apps however - though most of these can thankfully be uninstalled
Performance
- Super snappy performance with the powerful MediaTek Helio G90T - the day to day tasks are a breeze on this phone, applications open quickly, RAM management is quite good, and multitasking is also handled well - the phone breezes through medium and high-level graphic-intensive games like PUBG, which runs smoothly
Camera
- Good quad-camera setup at the back consisting of a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP Ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP monochrome camera, and a 2MP macro camera
- In daylight, primary camera captures some fine-looking shots with a good amount of detail and dynamic range, it is quick to focus and meter light properly in most scenarios - image processing does a good job at adding punchy-ness to the colours
- The wide-angle camera is decent and offer a wide field of view which comes handy in tight places and capturing more area - warping on the edges is taken care of decently through software (though, the quality isn't as good as the primary sensor)
- In low light, the camera takes good-looking shot - the Night Mode does a much better job in low light by stitching together multiple frames delivering a brighter overall result, shots taken with Night Mode have significantly better details (however, the quality dips slightly in low-light)
- Selfies shot with the Realme 6 have good detail, and beautification is enabled by default, photos are good enough to be shared on social media - you can take portrait shots, panoramas and even time-lapse videos with the front camera
- The new black and white monochrome lens helps take great monochrome portraits - this lens helps the main sensor grab a wider spectrum of greys, hence adding more richness and texture to portrait shots
- The macro lens doesn't excel at what it is supposed to do, the detailing of the images is low because of the meagre 2MP resolution (though, it help take closer shots of smaller subjects)
Battery
- Battery life on the Realme 6 is quite good with the 4300 mAh cell, manages to go on for over a day and a half before needing to be plugged in
- The 30W fast charging is unheard of at this price and that too with bundled charger in the box - the phone gets to 65 per cent in 30 minutes and took a little over an hour to charge completely
Verdict
- The Realme 6 is a power-packed phone that's one of the most exciting offerings in its price segment - with segment-first features like a 90Hz display and 30W fast charging, it is one of the best smartphones money can buy in this price segment - the Helio G90T is a great performer, the quad-camera setup offers versatility, and Realme's UI is quite good too